My pellet career spans several years with two cookers.
Green Mountain Grill David Crockett $300-350
Powerful cooker yet small. Had trouble with grease drain. Small but will handle two upright chickens, pork butt , small family loads. States it's a portable but once mine was set on patio never moved until sold eleven months later. Great for a grill as best I remember can climb to 400°>
Sold after 11 months. Didn't ever find a way to elevate to a comfortable height.
Pit Boss Austin XL $250 clearance to $500 normal retail
A great cooker. Lots of space including elevated rack. 5 year warranty.
I paid $249 for this cooker and if I ever find it again at this price I will buy another for backup. A no frills workhorse that technology wise is in arrears, but flat out works.
Traeger
My older brother bought the top of line Traeger for himself, son, daughter. He comes from a custom Klose and BGE, and propane. He says the Traegers are their favorite cookers. The Klose is Farm art and the BGE are poolside silent. Wherever he bought the Traegers near Houston came with a lot of customer support. The Traeger dealer assembled, delivered and hung around for a cooking demo, gave personal phone number to call with any questions.
Mak, Reqtec, Yoder, etc top of line -top shelf cookers are well thought out, highly regarded made of commercial grade components.
Warranties vary, customer service varies, size, portability etc etc.
At their most basic a pellet cooker is a hopper, auger and burn pot. Similarities pretty much end there. How much you want to spend determines how many latest technology upgrades you get.
There is a learning curve to you learning your pellet cooker. Hot spots, best smoke etc.
Pellet cookers I've had are fantastic for what I bought it for, I am most pleased with the way food turns out. However, I still think the best tasting food IMHO comes from a drum
Green Mountain Grill David Crockett $300-350
Powerful cooker yet small. Had trouble with grease drain. Small but will handle two upright chickens, pork butt , small family loads. States it's a portable but once mine was set on patio never moved until sold eleven months later. Great for a grill as best I remember can climb to 400°>
Sold after 11 months. Didn't ever find a way to elevate to a comfortable height.
Pit Boss Austin XL $250 clearance to $500 normal retail
A great cooker. Lots of space including elevated rack. 5 year warranty.
I paid $249 for this cooker and if I ever find it again at this price I will buy another for backup. A no frills workhorse that technology wise is in arrears, but flat out works.
Traeger
My older brother bought the top of line Traeger for himself, son, daughter. He comes from a custom Klose and BGE, and propane. He says the Traegers are their favorite cookers. The Klose is Farm art and the BGE are poolside silent. Wherever he bought the Traegers near Houston came with a lot of customer support. The Traeger dealer assembled, delivered and hung around for a cooking demo, gave personal phone number to call with any questions.
Mak, Reqtec, Yoder, etc top of line -top shelf cookers are well thought out, highly regarded made of commercial grade components.
Warranties vary, customer service varies, size, portability etc etc.
At their most basic a pellet cooker is a hopper, auger and burn pot. Similarities pretty much end there. How much you want to spend determines how many latest technology upgrades you get.
There is a learning curve to you learning your pellet cooker. Hot spots, best smoke etc.
Pellet cookers I've had are fantastic for what I bought it for, I am most pleased with the way food turns out. However, I still think the best tasting food IMHO comes from a drum
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